No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life

What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.

The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant: The Complete Work Plus an Overview, Chapter by Chapter Summary and Author Biography!

The Critique of Pure Reason is a work that examines the faculty of reason and the qualities inherent in human thought. Before this time the influence of the knower on that which was sought to be known was not considered in a thorough and developed manner. Kant attempted with this critique to establish a limit to the knowable based on the nature of human cognition. His work was an attempt to address the failings in philosophy and metaphysics and provide a solid foundation for the proper use of reason to expand knowledge.

Reading Biblical Literature: Genesis to Revelation

Rightly recognized as one of the world's most important spiritual texts, the Bible has shaped thousands of years of faith, art, and human history. Yet for all its importance to believers and nonbelievers alike, we rarely engage with the Bible as a collection of unique narratives that were only later united into what we now know as the Old and New Testaments. And these different texts - historical narratives, dramatic visions, poems, songs, letters - speak to a broad range of experience, from joy and wonder to tragedy and mystery.

Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction

Schopenhauer is the easiest to listen to of German philosophers. This audiobook gives a succinct explanation of his metaphysical system, concentrating on the original aspects of his thought, which inspired many artists and thinkers including Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, and Wittgenstein. Schopenhauer's central notion is that of the will - a blind, irrational force that he uses to interpret both the human mind and the whole of nature.

Consciousness Explained

The national bestseller chosen by The New York Times Book Review as one of the ten best books of 1991 is now available as an audiobook. The author of Brainstorms, Daniel C. Dennett replaces our traditional vision of consciousness with a new model based on a wealth of fact and theory from the latest scientific research.

Logic: A Very Short Introduction

Logic is often perceived as having little to do with the rest of philosophy, and even less to do with real life. In this lively and accessible introduction, Graham Priest shows how wrong this conception is. He explores the philosophical roots of the subject, explaining how modern formal logic deals with issues ranging from the existence of God and the reality of time to paradoxes of probability and decision theory. Along the way, the basics of formal logic are explained in simple, non-technical terms, showing that logic is a powerful and exciting part of modern philosophy.

The Ethics of Aristotle

In this 12-lecture meditation on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, you'll uncover the clarity and ethical wisdom of one of humanity's greatest minds. Father Koterski shows how and why this great philosopher can help you deepen and improve your own thinking on questions of morality and leading the best life. The aim of these lectures is to provide you with a clear and thoughtful introduction to Aristotle as a moral philosopher.

Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False

The modern materialist approach to life has conspicuously failed to explain such central mind-related features of our world as consciousness, intentionality, meaning, and value. This failure to account for something so integral to nature as mind, argues philosopher Thomas Nagel, is a major problem, threatening to unravel the entire naturalistic world picture, extending to biology, evolutionary theory, and cosmology. Since minds are features of biological systems that have developed through evolution, the standard materialist version of evolutionary biology is fundamentally incomplete.

Life’s Ratchet: How Molecular Machines Extract Order from Chaos

The cells in our bodies consist of molecules, made up of the same carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms found in air and rocks. But molecules, such as water and sugar, are not alive. So how do our cells - assemblies of otherwise "dead" molecules - come to life, and together constitute a living being? In Life’s Ratchet, physicist Peter M. Hoffmann locates the answer to this age-old question at the nanoscale.

A Synthetic Biologist says:"For biologists to learn single molecule biophysics"

Memory: A Very Short Introduction

Memories are an integral part of being human. They haunt us, we cherish them, and in our lives we collect more of them with each new experience. Without memory, you would not be able to maintain a relationship, drive your car, talk to your children, read a poem, watch television, or do much of anything at all. Memory: A Very Short Introduction explores the fascinating intricacies of human memory. Is it one thing or many?

Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction

One of the leading philosophical movements of the 20th century, existentialism has had more impact on literature and the arts than any other school of thought. Focusing on the leading figures of existentialism, including Sartre, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty and Camus, Thomas Flynn offers a concise account of existentialism, explaining the key themes of individuality, free will, and personal responsibility, which marked the movement as a way of life, not just a way of thinking.

Food: A Cultural Culinary History

Eating is an indispensable human activity. As a result, whether we realize it or not, the drive to obtain food has been a major catalyst across all of history, from prehistoric times to the present. Epicure Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said it best: "Gastronomy governs the whole life of man."

Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life

In a book that is both groundbreaking and accessible, Daniel C. Dennett, whom Chet Raymo of The Boston Globe calls "one of the most provocative thinkers on the planet", focuses his unerringly logical mind on the theory of natural selection, showing how Darwin's great idea transforms and illuminates our traditional view of humanity's place in the universe. Dennett vividly describes the theory itself and then extends Darwin's vision with impeccable arguments to their often surprising conclusions, challenging the views of some of the most famous scientists of our day.

A History of Western Philosophy

Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy serves as the perfect introduction to its subject; it remains unchallenged as the greatest account of the history of Western thought. Charting philosophy's course from the pre-Socratics up to the early twentieth century, Russell relates each philosopher and school to their respective historical and cultural contexts, providing erudite commentary throughout his invaluable survey.

On the Origin of Species

This scientific writing, which was considered to be the groundwork of evolutionary biology, presented the theory that species developed over a line of originations through a method of natural selection. It imparted evidence that the variety of life resulted from a common descent via a branching model of evolution.

Becoming a Great Essayist

If you have a clever anecdote, an interesting memory, a new way to explain how something works, or an opinion on a social or political issue, then you have an essay in you. Unlike a novel, history book, or scientific publication, essays provide you with the versatility to express all the various facets that make you you. The concise and direct nature of an essay means that you may tap in to your sense of wit, share your individual point of view, persuade others to your perspective, and record a part of your memories for future generations in as many distinct essay forms as you wish.

The Aging Brain

We're all getting older every day, and scientific research has shown that starting in our 20s, some brain functions begin a linear decline. But is old age all doom and gloom? Not at all! While it's true that some functions in the aging brain decline, neuroscientists have discovered that many other brain functions remain stable - or even improve - as we age.

This book is a crash course in effective reasoning, meant to catapult you into a world where you start to see things how they really are, not how you think they are. The focus of this book is on logical fallacies, which loosely defined, are simply errors in reasoning. With the reading of each page, you can make significant improvements in the way you reason and make decisions.

To Hell and Back: Europe 1914-1949

The European catastrophe, the long continuous period from 1914 to1949, was unprecedented in human history - an extraordinarily dramatic, often traumatic, and endlessly fascinating period of upheaval and transformation.

The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments

Once solely the province of ivory-tower professors and college classrooms, contemporary philosophy was finally emancipated from its academic closet in 2010, when "The Stone" was launched in The New York Times. First appearing as an online series, the column quickly attracted millions of readers through its accessible examination of universal topics like the nature of science, consciousness, and morality while also probing more contemporary issues such as the morality of drones, gun control, and the gender divide.

Thinking: The New Science of Decision-Making, Problem-Solving, and Prediction

Edited by John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org, Thinking presents original ideas by today's leading psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers who are radically expanding our understanding of human thought.

The Meaning of Human Existence

Searching for meaning in what Nietzsche once called “the rainbow colors” around the outer edges of knowledge and imagination, Edward O. Wilson bridges science and philosophy to create a 21st century treatise on human existence. Once criticized for his over-reliance on genetics, Wilson unfurls here his most expansive and advanced theories on human behavior, recognizing that, even though the human and spider evolved similarly, the poet’s sonnet is wholly different than the spider’s web.

A Treatise of Human Nature

A Treatise of Human Nature is the first work ever published by David Hume, a man who revolutionized our understanding of philosophy. Hume was an advocate of the skeptical school of philosophy and a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. He looks at the nature of human experience and cognition, showing that philosophy and reason can only be reflections of our nature.

Publisher's Summary

Does the existence of evil call into doubt the existence of God? Show me the argument.

Will living a just life lead to happiness? Show me the argument.

Philosophy starts with questions, but attempts at answers are just as important, and these answers require reasoned argument. Cutting through notoriously dense and verbose philosophical prose, the authors set 100 famous and influential arguments in context, including key quotations, to explain the original style and approach. Each argument is laid bare in its essential form, with premises and conclusions plainly identified and the form of argument specified.

Designed to offer a quick and compact reference to everything from Aquinas' Five Ways to prove the existence of God to the metaphysical possibilities of zombie minds, Just the Arguments is an invaluable one–stop argument shop. Michael Bruce currently researches in the history of philosophy. He has taught philosophy and mathematics courses at the University of Washington’s Robinson Center for Young Scholars. Steven Barbone is Associate Professor of Philosophy at San Diego State University.

What the Critics Say

“An invaluable tool for students–or anyone interested in philosophy– Just the Arguments distills the most important arguments from the Western philosophical tradition into concise and lucid prose. The editors should be commended for providing such an action–packed resource; it's highly recommended!” (Fritz Allhoff, Western Michigan University)

I think this is a fantastic book for getting the basic philosophical ideas and arguments out there and on the table for discussion. I wish I had this book when I was in college. The problem with the Audible edition is that you really need to see the arguments on paper and read them a couple of times. There is just to much philosophy there for a causal listening. I bought the Kindle version too and I am very happy with that.

This really is just a reference book for introductory philosophy courses, and it did not translate well at all to the audio format. I'm sure the actual content is of good quality, but it is NOT for the armchair philosopher. As the narrator listed off each component of each argument, it was very difficult to keep track of what was being said. I'm sure reading it would have been better, but again, this isn't a book for readers who just want to know more about the 100 best arguments. It's for people who need to know how the arguments are technically structured.

Would you try another book from Michael Bruce and Steven Barbone and/or Mark Ashby?

Not sure.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I enjoyed the parts that flowed like a story, but the ones that were in premises and conclusions format were too boring. Overall, the book was difficult to understand for someone who took philosophy classes too long ago. I would need a refresher introductory course to be able to follow the reading, I guess. In addition, this is not the kind of book to listen while you're driving, although I chose an audiobook because I spend a considerable amount of time commuting. For all these reasons, I am trying to return it.

I like philosophy and was really looking forward to this book. I especially wanted to see which arguments were selected. However, I found that the arguments were presented in too technical a manner. The syllogistic reasoning is too difficult to understand at the pace of the reader's presentation. One reviewer suggested that a printed version would be better. I agree, but feel that even a written version would be too deep for the non-philosophy major. I was wasting my time so I stopped half way through the work.